The slumbering herd

Pre-Halloween, a Georgia Power security guard babysits a herd of bucket trucks slumbering in the parking lot of the defunct Azalea Mall just off I-95 on the north side of Richmond. I did not ask where the herd was headed, where were the drivers, or how they bill for their subcontracting work. But since a Dominion Virginia Power V-P announced that the company would be recruiting subs from the South in advance of the Frankenstorm, Hurricane Sandy, it's a pretty safe bet who invited them here.~Commentator Bill Emory puts up a new photo nearly every day at billemory.com/blog.

Rather than encourage the bi-partisan spirit shown by the President and Gov. Chrisitie, Fox News, Breitbart and others have created a non-story to distract from the on-going recovery efforts in the tri-state region. At no time has any aid from an outside electric utility been refused because they are non-union. Rather it was a misunderstanding on the part of a Decatur Power Company crewman.

Another sidebar to the Fox News/Breitbart created story is that New York has the same labor regulations as New Jersey;that is, if they are not allowed to work in NJ, then they also cannot work in New York. In general, non-IBEW members when traveling to work in the region must be paid the higher union wages. From my various readings on the on-going restoration efforts, the IBEW is not enforcing this regulation, but rather allowing the non-union utilities to decide if they wish to pay the differential.

Reader Too November 2nd, 2012 | 9:16pm

Just vote!

Weekend Reader November 2nd, 2012 | 9:41pm

Social Media moves mountains! Northeast will finally receive help!

Ponce De leon November 3rd, 2012 | 12:42am

everyone is welcome...

Your link CONFIRMS that these people were shut out pending agreement to the IBEW (international; brotherhood of electrical workers) rules....

The implcation that they are not needed in new jersey and new york is a joke and confirmed by any 11:00 news showing MILLIONS of people without power.

If they had not been held up they would be SOMWHERE in New Jersey or New York right now...

Unions suck.

Liberalace November 3rd, 2012 | 8:45am

@Ponce de Leon...you're spot on. The idea that union status would even be discussed in this dire tragedy speaks volumes about the state of unions in NJ/NY. Just try to plug a cord into an outlet at a trade show in NYC and see who swoops down. It is disgusting.

@Everyone is welcome...that was not bi-partisanship when Obama spent his hour or so for a photo op with Christie. That was a republican governor who will run for re-election next year kissing up to Dems and Indies in his state by gushing over the Community Organizer in Chief. You will note how adamant Christie was the day of the storm, but how quiet he has been about the union incident.

By most accounts, the response to this tragedy has been horrid. Higher ups (like the Directoress of Homey Security) show up for brief tours, but people in hard hit areas had seen very few FEMA personnel until Friday afternoon at the earliest while the storm struck Monday and Tuesday). The Red Cross has been slow in responding. And guess what the discussion is about now: "infrastructure is lacking and perhaps we need to be discussing that infrastructure is an issue of homeland security." Yes, indeed, the "progressives" see this as a great opportunity for more "shovel ready," WPA-type projects.

Finally, Bloomberg--in the true Clintonian fashion--wet his finger and held it up to the wind before cancelling the NYC Marathon. The fact that this liberal, big government micromanager was going to proceed with the marathon is despicable, at best. However, after his enormously cold decision, outcry caused him to reverse gears. And the fact that even one runner would have taken part in that race when they could be there helping is selfish.

BTW, has anyone checked to see if Patty Kluge and Billy Moses are okay? They recently moved to NYC, you know.